La La Land is bringing the city of stars to the Big Apple, as Damien Chazelle's Oscar-winning musical is heading to Broadway. The stage adaptation will be written by award-winning playwrights Ayad Akhtar and Matthew Decker, with Bartlett Sher set as director. Frequent Chazelle collaborator Justin Hurwitz will return to write the score, with duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul returning to write the lyrics. No casting or debut date have been announced.
La La Land was first released in 2016. The musical film followed Mia (Emma Stone), an aspiring actress, and Sebastian (Ryan Gosling), a jazz musician. Throughout, both struggled to navigate their careers in Los Angeles and pursued a relationship with one another that faced its own challenges as they begin to find professional success. It featured songs including opening number "Another Day of Sun," "City of Stars" that received a few iterations, "Audition (The Fools Who Dream)," and more. Along with Stone and Gosling, the soundtrack featured singer John Legend.
The feature was written and directed by Chazelle who also held both roles for his 2014 music-centric film Whiplash, which starred Miles Teller as an up-and-coming drummer. La La Land reunited Chazelle with J.K. Simmons and also starred Rosemarie DeWitt, Callie Hernandez, Sonoya Mizuno, Jessica Rothe, Jason Fuchs, Finn Wittrock, and more. Hurwitz composed, with lyrics by Pasek and Paul. Along with the upcoming Broadway adaptation, a concert version has been on tour since 2017.
'La La Land' Was an Awards Hit
The film was quick to rise in the spotlight following its initial release, winning the hearts of critics and general audiences. It garnered approximately $472 million globally at the box office, along with a slew of award nominations. It dominated awards such as the Critics Choice, BAFTA, the Golden Globes, in which it won in every category it was nominated. For the 2017 Oscars, it received 14 total nominations and brought home six – including Best Director. It was also famously incorrectly announced as the Best Picture winner, which ultimately went to Barry Jenkins' Moonlight.
About the upcoming stage adaptation, the film's producer Marc Platt said:
"I’m thrilled to reunite with Lionsgate and the incredible team behind ‘La La Land’ to adapt the movie for the Broadway stage, the next exciting chapter in its evolution. We’ve assembled a world-class team to create a musical that will delight ‘La La Land’s millions of current fans and introduce the property to a whole new audience."
La La Land is currently streaming on Netflix.